Ireland-based human rights watchdog Front Line Defenders in a report launched on February 8 from Dublin has alleged that the Bangladeshi human rights defenders face criminalization with far-reaching consequences as a result of the broad and politically-motivated use of the Digital Security Act (DSA) since it came into force in 2018, reports New Age. The report by Front Line Defenders, Digital Security Act: A Hanging Sword on Human Rights Defenders in Bangladesh, documents cases of eight Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) charged under the DSA, and how they suffered numerous violations of due process, economic difficulties as a result of lost income and jobs, and social stigmatization and harassment. It also alleged that the rights defenders’ family members also suffered in various ways, while they were all forced to significantly curtail their human rights work.